The Alternative Album Chart: The best new indie albums this week
2023 continues to be a year of stellar music. Undoubtedly one of the strongest in recent times, week upon week, it provides new sounds that keep us listeners firmly locked in. Whilst the previous three quarters have been exceptional, it appears that the final segment is to finish how its predecessors started in style, with each seven-day chapter so far gifting us excellent new music as we move towards the year’s end. To augment the collection this week, Massive Attack’s Tricky has reissued his solo masterpiece, Maxinquaye.
October has, without fault, taken off from where September left on the musical front, working to ease the delayed move from Summer into Autumn. Whilst the leaves might turn brown and the UK enters its extended rainy season, we can be safe knowing that our favourite musicians, old and new, are continuing to be at the top of the game.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve had an array of superb new albums from the likes of Mitski, Guided by Voices and Sufjan Stevens. In these past seven days, we’ve had new releases by acts ranging from punk heroes The Menzingers to Swedish psychedelic enigmas, Goat. Although we might be thinner on the ground than usual, the quality is still high.
So, without further ado, we’ll leave you with this week’s Alternative Album Chart. Enjoy.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
Some of it Was True – The Menzingers – 4.5
Coming out of the punk rock tradition, The Menzingers have prided themselves on making some of the most earnest music of the era, taking the basic sounds of open chords and writing dense tales about connecting with the world around them. While albums like After the Party may be the shining example of what they could do at their best, Some Of It Was True captures a certain uncertainty that anyone in their 20s is bound to feel.
The album does have a bit of a bloated runtime by the band’s standards. Although most of the songs do a great job at keeping the audience’s attention, the band could have made a more profound statement if they had maybe taken a few tracks out. However, in doing so, the album’s story may seem incomplete.
Whereas most punk fans might see the bleakness of the world around them and lash out in anger, The Menzingers are taking that same frustration and doing whatever they can to improve the world. Compared to the rest of the indie punk scene right now, The Menzingers are channelling Ramones and The Clash through Bruce Springsteen and made a stellar album that can be enjoyed for years to come. The world might look dark, but the music can often be the strongest light. [Words: Tim Coffman]
God Is Dead – Twin Temple – 4.5
Historically, Friday the 13th has been steeped in superstition, where it’s believed that malevolent entities lay in wait, ready to pounce on unsuspecting victims. Those who embrace the dark aura of this day are often associated with being Satanists, witches, daring-fate challengers, or, even better, artists. In all of these categories, Twin Temple carves a unique niche, standing out as the most delightfully wicked and intriguing talent in the realm of music, so it seems fitting that God Is Dead will grace the world on the auspicious date.
Four years on from their debut, Twin Temple (Bring You Their Signature Sound…. Satanic Doo-Wop), God Is Dead is a deliciously lavish display of seductive Satanic rituals, flawlessly executed musical kitsch, and gleeful Godlessness delivered through the signature mischievous twinkle in the eyes. Channelling the nostalgic croons of 1950s rock ‘n’ roll works like a spell, painting a vivid portrait of a bygone era and pulling us in as if it were mere moments ago. Whatever that elusive “it” may be.
The title track provides an exquisite conclusion to this enchanting album, with Alexandra James’ vocals soaring to cinematic heights while the strings gracefully encircle the band’s central message. Although satanic themes in music tend to be scorned by some, with the concept that “God is dead” seeming gloomy, the song, along with the entire album, serves as a poignant reminder that beauty can be discovered in the depths of darkness. God Is Dead is a reminder that the well-trodden road is overhyped and that discovering a true sense of belonging can often be achieved by boldly venturing off the conventional path. [Words: Kelly Scalon]
Medicine – Goat – 4
The most mysterious band in Sweden are back with their latest album, Medicine. This time out, Goat’s sound is mellowed from a psychedelic whirlwind to more of a microdosed bath of bliss. The masks remain, and so does the inherent peculiarity of their genre-less assortment of sounds, but this record certainly marks a notable transition for Goat towards more a morning weirdness than a midnight blitz.
The album is centred around the potential of Medicine. In typical fashion, they’re obviously not talking about paracetamol or a hot mug of Lemsip. However, this doesn’t create an alienating world for anyone not into the whole ‘spiritual’ thing, rather it welcomes everyone into an environment of healing. After all, why can’t gentle mindfulness come from a wailing Moroccan arpeggio delivered by a mystic figure in a mask and cloak. [Words: Tom Taylor]
Jonny – The Drums – 3
“When I finished Jonny,” The Drums founder and only remaining member Jonathan Pierce states, “I listened to it, and I heard my soul reflected back at me.” On his sixth studio record, Pierce invites us to sit alongside him as he flicks through a sonic photo album of his past selves, addressing each of them in turn.
From the album’s name to the raw accompanying artwork, Jonny is a record made, first and foremost, for its namesake. Upon first listen, it may seem like just another familiarly sunny indie-pop entry into the discography of The Drums, but for Pierce, the making of this record was a religious experience.
“To encapsulate one’s whole self in an album,” he stated, “to honour each and every part of you – even the parts that feel at odds with each other, is to make something deeply human, and because my religion is humanism, the album becomes a sacred place for me to worship. Each feeling a different pew, each song a hymn to the human heart.”
Upon first listening, Jonny just might pass you by as another indie offering from one of the most dependable and consistent bands in the genre. Really, it’s Pierce’s ode to his past selves disguised as digestible electropop. It’s just as sunny in sound as any of their previous releases, but it’s far more introspective and intimate. Jonny is a gentle and reflective sonic letter to Pierce’s most familiar pen pal, himself. [Words: Elle Palmer]
the rest EP – Boygenius – 3
It’s only been about six months since Boygenius released their startling debut LP, The Record. In that time, they’ve risen from a vanity supergroup to perhaps the true saviors of rock music. Pulling in the same crowds that pop superstars have without bowing to any external pressures, it’s essential to keep the Boygenius ball rolling. That’s why we’re getting a brand-new EP, the rest.
There’s one major oversight here: ‘Boyfriends’, the wild indie rock Bridgers-Dacus duet that has been a staple of the band’s live sets this year, is nowhere to be found. It probably didn’t fit the spacey and slightly ambient style of the rest, but it’s also a killer song that hasn’t seen an official release yet. That’s a bummer, because ‘Boyfriends’ would have been the EP’s highlight track.
But the rest doesn’t seem all that interested in matching the same heights as the group’s previous releases. It’s a group of songs with a certain vibe that will placate the band’s already-rabid fanbase for a few minutes as we all wait for Boygenius to either come to our town or put out another full-length album.
the rest doesn’t have the same level of material that the band’s debut EP has. It certainly doesn’t stack up to the band’s titanic full-length LP, which is an out-an-out five star record. Instead, the rest is (hopefully) a sure sign that the members of Boygenius aren’t just packing it in and going back to their respective solo careers. These are three women who have completely taken over the rock world and are at the peak of their respective powers. So why stop now? [Words: Tyler Golsen]
Reissue – Tricky – Maxinquaye – 4.5
As a member of The Wild Bunch and early collaborator of Massive Attack, Tricky – born Adrian Thaws – was one of hip-hop’s early British innovators. Alongside their Bristol neighbours Portishead, Massive Attack were widely regarded as the founders of trip-hop. This is an ill-fitting genre tag with which Tricky isn’t particularly comfortable, and with such boundless creative exploration over the past three decades, it’s easy to see why.
After working with Massive Attack on their second album, 1993’s Protection, notably contributing to ‘Karmacoma’ and ‘Eurochild’, Tricky sought to bring this eclectic approach into a solo career. He began this venture in 1994 as he stepped into the studio with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird and a solo contract with 4th & B’way.
The extraordinary fruit of these sessions was pressed into Maxinquaye, Tricky’s debut solo album of 1995. Like his earlier work with Massive Attack, this groundbreaking 12-track set defied categorisation, leaving critics to stutter in awe over terms like trip-hop and post-rock. Meanwhile, Tricky pushed on to release three further studio albums by the millennium’s close, each bringing a progressive batch of thoroughly engrossing material.
Although it’s not a round number anniversary for Maxinquaye, the Universal label gave Tricky the opportunity to reissue the album alongside six brand-new reworks of its classic tracks. “When Universal approached me, I said to them, ‘Can I do some new tracks?'” Tricky said in a new press release. “And they just said yes to me right away. It wouldn’t have involved me otherwise, and the way they’ve been has sort of restored my faith in major labels. It’s like the early days of Island all over again.”
The new reincarnated edition drags the thematically dark and creatively colourful debut album into the 21st century with six reimagined tracks, live versions, alternative mixes, and new Abbey Road remasters of the original tapes. “If you’re an artist or a musician and you look back at your old stuff,” Tricky explains, “If you don’t think it’s dated, then you’re either stood still or you’re satisfied with what you’ve done. So, Maxinquaye sounds dated to me. I can understand why it was an important record, but to me – because I made it – it sounds dated.”
The six tracks Tricky “reincarnated” for this special reissue are ‘Strugglin’, ‘Aftermath’, ‘Ponderosa’, Hell Is Round The Corner’, ‘Pumpkin’ and the abridged reprise, ‘Little Aftermath’. Working in collaboration with Alex Reece, Marta Złakowska, Lucia, Sukie Smith and RZA, Tricky has breathed new life into these tracks, transforming them past what could be considered correction and into a new creative realm entirely.
The new super deluxe set arrives in triple LP, double CD and digital formats, each emblazoned with the reincarnated cover artwork featuring a photograph of Tricky as a child with his late mother. “That’s the only existing picture I know of me and her together,” Tricky said of the artwork. “One of my cousins found that in a box a couple of years ago. So the timing is perfect. When I first did Maxinquaye, I never had that picture. I know more about my mother now than when I did when I made that album, right? So it’s kind of perfect timing. It was meant to be.”
The reissue arrives on Friday, October 13th, but all purchase options are available for preorder now. The 3LP set of Maxinquaye (Super Deluxe) is available for £43.99 here. Far Out Magazine may earn from qualifying purchases. [Words: Jordan Potter]
